Captain Frederick Sauer was shot and killed after he and another officer responded to a report of a burglary at a store at 0530 hours. Captain Sauer covered the front of the store as the other officer covered the rear. As the two burglars came out of the front of the store one opened fire with a shotgun and fatally wounded Captain Sauer.

Both suspects were eventually apprehended and charged with murder. Charges were dropped against one of the suspects. The other suspect was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison December 10, 1934. He was paroled in 1969. On May 7, 1970, he was arrested in Des moines, Iowa, and charged with the theft of 64 money orders from a Colorado Springs, Colorado, post office. Four months later he was convicted of mail theft and sentenced to five years in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas.